“We know that on Thursdays after Stephenie’s been here Greta always naps and poops.”

There are some things I am known for. Some are less glamorous than others, but that does not make them any less important. A toddler who is no longer constipated is a much happier child, who in turn has a happier family.

Bowel problems occur in up to 62% of individuals with spinal cord injuries1, it took longer than usual for food to enter at the mouth and reach the rectum as waste in 61% of children with spina bifida studied 2, and the incidence of chronic constipation in individuals with cerebral palsy is estimated to be around 74% 3. Read more →

I look outside and see the wheelchair that just sits….next to the scooter and the barely used patio set outside the sliding glass door of our townhouse. Further in the scene, is Gunnar, age 2½, climbing the ladder to the slide while together, Daddy and Roa make the loop around the climbing equipment. Read more →

I’d like to introduce myself as this is my first blog for EasyStand. I’m Matthew Tilford and if you are an Easystand Facebook friend, you might remember me from my “standing and sanding” picture I posted to the page. By the way, I apologize to all the men out there that were hounded by their wives for not fixing things out of a wheelchair users reach. If I can’t find a way to fix those out of reach things, my wife will find a way and my EasyStand is usually involved. Read more →

I was lamenting not being able to move my fingers the other day, and then I ran across Caroline Lanctot. When she was 10 months old, she was in a car accident that left her a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic.

When we talk to our customers who have a spinal cord injury, we always hear about how they “used an EasyStand in rehab” or “stood in rehab.” It’s wonderful that Spinal Cord Injury Centers are establishing inpatient standing program for people with TBI and SCI, but what happens when the newly injured person leaves rehab? Some people are not prescribed a standing frame for home use, even though it is usually the best time to begin standing. A standing program should not end when inpatient rehab ends. To reap the long-term health benefits of standing, a standing frame must be prescribed for daily use. Read more →

A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Germany for a distributor meeting and an exhibition, and ran into some problems at the Dusseldorf airport. I have been lobbying (thanks Marty Ball) ever since to get them to change their ways before RehaCare next week. It is the only airport, that I know of, that still automatically sends a wheelchair down to the baggage claim (regardless of how you have it tagged) and forces you to get into an airport wheelchair when departing the plane. As a fairly independent person and wheelchair user, I find it a bit demoralizing to have to be pushed down to the baggage claim. To top off the incident, our wheelchairs took 45 minutes to arrive at baggage. There were three of us waiting.Read more →

Joe Stone is an active C7 quadriplegic with a passion for outdoor sports, health and nutrition. One of his goals is to train hard and become the first quadriplegic to compete in a triathlon. As part of that goal he recently completed a 105 mile handcycle trek and is currently working on a video documentary about his journey titled An Ironman’s Journey. Read more →

Hello Friends! The following is not a paid advertisement from EasyStand…YOU MUST STAND! I repeat this is not a paid advertisement from EasyStand. So, why am I writing this then? Because I am getting sick and tired of all the lousy excuses that I continue to get from so many people with disabilities who are ABLE to stand in an EasyStand, maybe even have one, and CHOOSE not to use it. There is a common saying that one is “ready, willing, and able” to do something. Being a person with a disability and even talking about people with disabilities, one may think that the word “able” is missing from this equation, but believe it or not it is the other two words that are lined with so many excuses these days. Read more →

Last week we kicked off our new 2012 educational seminar “Standing Justified” in Dallas, Texas. We were excited to have over 50 clinicians and rehab technology suppliers in attendance! “Standing Justified” is a CEU accredited program on standing and weight bearing that explores the health complications and cost resulting from immobility. Read more →